The Last Day
by beyondthesettingsun
Summary: Katara is having nightmares. In these nightly dreams discover the last day of her mother's life and the day that changed Katara and Sokka's lives forever. Chapters 11&12 are up!
1. The Nightmares Begin

Chapter One:

_One moment, one chance. That's all I had. So why couldn't I just go? My body wouldn't move at all. All I could do was stand and stare. I could have helped. Instead, I let the life of the one I loved drain out of her in the form of a crimson liquid. When the fire hit I thought that maybe I could help, but I didn't. Now what? Then he came. He was there when she was killed. His face- He came up to me with this glare. His taunting voice… _ "She could still be alive." "No." "She could still be with you." "No…" "You killed her." "NO!"

Katara shot up and screamed-

Katara: No!

Her face was wet with sweat and was hot. She stayed sitting on her bed and looked around. The doorknob turned. The waterbender's eyes widened. Her heart pounded. The door started to open. She shut her eyes tightly. A soft voice…

Aang: Katara?

She opened her eyes to see Aang standing next to her bed. Next to him was Sokka.

_He was there, too. He was there…but where? Where did he go? Where was he? I remember… _"Sokka!!" _No one came._ "Sokka! (pause) SOKKA HELP ME!!!" _He came, finally._ "Why are you scream- oh, no." _I cried. The tears rushed out like they've been trying to escape for hours. Sokka was there._

Aang: Are you okay?

Katara just sat there staring at the wall in front of her.

Sokka: Did you have a nightmare?

_I get it. It's that same look. She has that same look…_

"Why are you scream- oh, no." _I saw her lying there. Blood…lots of blood. Katara's eyes were wide open and she was staring at her lying there. _"Katara, we need to get help." "He left." "Who left?" "That kid." "What kid?" "I KILLED HER!" "What?" _Who did she kill? Did she kill the kid she's talking about? Who was it?"_

Sokka: Aang, you should go.

Aang: Why?

Sokka: You can't be here right now.

Aang: Again…why?

Sokka: I'll tell you later.

Aang left.

_What's going on? Why can't I be in there? Is it about me? Did I do something? Why is she sitting there with that ghostly look on her face? Why…?_

Sokka sat down on the bed next to his sister. He put one hand on her shoulder.

Sokka: Katara? Is it about-

Katara: I killed her.

Sokka: What?

Katara: I killed her.

Sokka: No. Katara, you didn't-

Katara: Yes I did! I could have gotten help! But I didn't! I just stood there!

Sokka: Don't blame yourself. You didn't do anything wrong. You were young. You couldn't do anything.

Katara: I was twelve!

Sokka: Yeah, you were only a little kid.

Katara: I was the same age as Aang and Toph are now.

Sokka: But those were different circumstances.

Katara: No they weren't! They're the same! It's the same war! Aang was still the Avatar! Toph was still a blind earthbender! Nothing has changed!

Sokka: You couldn't have done anything.

Katara: I could have stood in the way.

Sokka: No. That would have killed you.

Katara: But you would still have a mother.

Sokka: Yeah, but I wouldn't have a sister. I wouldn't have _you_. Katara, I-

Katara got out of bed. She opened the door. _What now?_ She ran.

_Where am I going? What am I doing? I'm not brave. I've never been brave. I'll never be brave when it comes to this. I always have to run._

Her feet stopped. She was still at the temple, but she was away from the others. She needed to be alone. To cry.

Sokka left the room and out with the others.

Aang: Is she okay?

Sokka: She left.

Aang: What do you mean she left?

Sokka: I mean she left. She ran away. She _left_.

Haru: She probably didn't go too far. What happened?

Sokka: She had a dream about what happened to our mother.

Teo: What happened to her?

Sokka: The Fire Nation killed her in a raid. The look Katara had when she was sitting in her room was the same she had when she was staring down at our mom.

Teo: So she died right in front of Katara?

Sokka: She was _killed_ right in front of Katara.

Toph: I can understand why she left. She probably wanted to go somewhere where no one else is around to bother her.

Sokka: Probably. But when Mom died, Katara said that there was this kid there. And then she said "I killed her, I killed her." I'm not sure if she was talking about the kid or our mom at the time. Now I know she was talking about Mom but I'm still not sure who the kid was.

_I said those words to her. _

The Duke: Should anyone go find her?

Haru: No. I think it's better to let her be for now.

Zuko got up and left.

Katara sat on the ground and wiped the tears off of her face. Her eyes stared at the ground. The time that passed seemed like it had been hours. She wondered what the others were doing. Suddenly there were feet in her view. Her eyes looked up and focused on the scared face above her.

Katara: What?

Zuko: We're worried about you.

Katara: And…

Zuko: Are you alright?

Katara glared at the Fire Nation prince. He sat down in front of her.

Zuko: I know I've told you this before, but the Fire Nation hurt my mother, too. Well I thought they did but-

Katara: Don't even go there. I don't want to be sorry for you so don't even try. Your pity trip won't work. And what makes you think that I'm here because of my mom?

Zuko: Your brother-

Katara: Oh. Well, it doesn't matter. She's dead and that's it. The Fire Nation killed my mother right in front of me.

Zuko: I want to apologize.

Katara: For…?

Zuko: For-

_I can't tell her why. She'd kill me._

Zuko: For…coming. I'm sorry I disrupted you.

Katara: I- it's okay. I'm sorry, too. You know, for giving you a hard time. You're doing well.

Zuko: Huh?

Katara: In training Aang. He's showed me a lot of his firebending. He says you're a great teacher. So thanks, I guess, for teaching him.

Zuko: Yeah. No- no problem.

Katara started to head back and then stopped.

Katara: So what did they do to her? You said you thought they killed her. What did they do to her?

Zuko: She was banished. Like me. I'm not sure where she is, though. I hope to maybe find her again.

Katara: Maybe one day you could. And maybe one day you could return home.

Zuko's eyes moved to look down.

Katara: I don't mean that as to be rude. I mean that as in maybe you could be a family again.

Katara left. Zuko followed shortly after.


	2. Reasoning

_Okay, so last time I put up a chapter, I did change the format to quotes and I think I uploaded the wrong version…either that or it saved wrong. But anyway, here are some good old fashioned quotation marks and 'he said, she said-s' instead of the other way. Enjoy!_

* * *

Katara was sitting on a crumbled wall holding her knees to her chest. Aang walked up and sat down next to her.

"How was training for the day?" Katara asked with tiredness in her voice.

" Good. But I'm worried about you."

Katara rolled her eyes. "Everyone's saying that. I'm fine. I just had a bad dream."

" And then ran away."

"I'm fine." She let off a sigh and looked over the ledge of the temple.

"I don't believe you."

Katara looked Aang in the eyes.

"I'm fine. I promise." Now there was some reassurance in her voice.

"I kind of believe you."

" Why don't you believe me?"

Aang looked down. He fiddled with his robe and shrugged.

"I dunno. You don't seem okay. I mean, I've never seen you so depressed. It's like someone took you away and replaced you with someone no one knows."

"Look, Aang, I'm fine. Just….just try to believe me."

"Katara, promise me something?"

"Anything."

"That if something is really wrong, that you'll talk to me about it. I hate seeing you like this."

"Okay. I promise."

Aang hugged his friend and left.

Night fell once more and everyone went to sleep. Katara shut her eyes.

"Mom!" _She turned around and walked over to me. She put her hands on her hips. I look just like her. The long dark hair, the blue eyes; Dad used to tell me that he met Mom when she was my age and I look __**exactly**__ like she did._ "Yes, Katara? What is it?" _My eyes lit up with excitement. _"I did it, Mom! Check this out, I did it!" _I sat down by a bucket of water and started to move my hand in a wave motion. Water came up out of the bucket and wobbled in the air then fell back down again, splashing me in the face._ "I did it!" _Her smile was so comforting_. "You sure did. Keep that up and one day you'll be a master." "How am I going to be a master? I mean, I want to be, but I need a master to teach me first. There are no masters here." "One day, Katara, we could make a family trip to the North Pole." "Yeah… that would be great!" _I would never believe those words but somehow they kept my hopes up that one day I would be a master._

" So what's the plan for today?" Sokka was eager to do something other than sitting around and playing games. Katara decided to tag in an answer.

" Teo, The Duke, and Haru are off exploring again. I don't understand how exciting exploring the same place over and over again can be so much fun. They've gone around it so many times already."

" Who knows? Exploring _anything_ would be boring." Toph shrugged and her eyes drifted off to the side.

" That's because you can't see. You can't explore anything." Sokka chimed in.

Toph stomped her foot on the ground and hit Sokka in the arm with a rock.

" Ouch! Okay, sorry."

"Zuko and I are done training for today. What do you want to do, Katara?"

Katara shot up a confused glance before she realized what the question was.

" Huh? Oh, I don't know."

" You seem distracted. Whatchya thinking about?"

" Just…a dream."

Sokka was concerned.

" Did you have another nightmare?"

"No. It wasn't a nightmare. It was just a dream."

"About…?"

"Nothing important. I'm going for a walk."

The waterbender got up and walked away. Aang caught up with her.

"You promised, remember?"

"I just keep having these dreams about my mom. That's all. It's nothing big."

" When did she die?"

" When I was twelve. Two years ago…at the end of summer."

Aang's face lit up. _That's it!_

"That's probably why. This is the end of the summer and it's probably close to the day she died. You're most likely focusing on that."

" Since when did you become a master at dream telling?"

Aang laughed.

" I'm just trying to be helpful."

"I guess. I mean, I miss her so much and I guess the fact of it being the end of the summer brings back bad memories."

"Hopefully the dreams aren't nightmares anymore."

" Hopefully."

_She walked up to me; her hair seemed to have this unusual shine today. So did mine, I guess it was just the way the sun was hitting the village. _"Katara, can we have a little talk? You know, girl- woman to woman." _I love having these kinds of talks. I always get to learn something funny about Dad._ "Yeah! What about this time?" "You're getting older; you're becoming a beautiful young woman, Katara." "That's because I look just like you. Dad said so himself." _She laughed. Mom has the prettiest laugh._ "Yes, well your father has a way with words. Anyway, you're becoming older. You're almost thirteen." "One more month!" "That's right. Have I ever told you about the night you father asked me to marry him?" "No. You haven't." "Well, it was here, in the Southern Water Tribe, by where the old docks used to be. There was a full moon and its glow made the water sparkle so beautifully. Then he told me to close my eyes." "Did you?" "Of course I did." "Then what happened?" "Your father gave me this necklace." _She took off a necklace with a blue silk ribbon with a pendant on it that was carved out of stone._ "Oh, it's beautiful!" "It's an engagement necklace. And one day, some lucky Water Tribe man will make you one and will ask you to marry him." "How will I know that I should marry him and not anyone else?" "Oh, you will know, believe me." "But what if he's not from the Water Tribe? What if he's from some other nation?" "Katara, the chances of that are slim. This necklace was given to me by your father, but he did not make this." "Really? Who did?" "Your grandmother gave it to him to give to me." "Gran- Gran? That must be one special necklace." "It sure is. And that is why I think you should have it." "I couldn't." "I was going to give it to you on your sixteenth birthday, but there is something about today that gave me an urge not to resist giving it to you today." _She tied it around my neck. I can't believe she gave it to me. But what was so special about today? Why today? What urge would want her to not wait until I turned sixteen? I'm only twelve…I do not deserve such a gift. I'm barely a young woman if that. I'm just a kid! I'm just a kid. _"Katara, Sokka, Konia, get in the tent!"


	3. The Killer

_Okay, chapter 3 is up! I'm experimenting with different formats so I hope that this one is alright. Chapter four will be up soon if I don't get swarmed with more homework. It'll probably go up on Sunday or so because I'll be gone on a trip with my church on Friday and Sadurday. Better get to writing that next chapter!!__

* * *

_

_My heart is pounding. We never get called into our tent like this unless there's an animal attacking our village. Is it another polar bear lion? Sokka is by me so I feel a little better. Mom is coming in. Behind her I see black snow. Why is it black? _"Mom, why is the snow black?" "That is not snow, Katara." "It's not? What is it?" "Mom, is that ash?" _Jeez, Sokka always has to think that we're being attacked by the Fire Nation. We all think he's paranoid but no one has the guts to tell him that._ "Yes, Sokka. It's ash." "What!? Ash? Why is there ash? Mom! Why is there ash!?" "Katara, calm down and be quiet. Do not leave this tent. Do you understand me?" "But what if-?" "No. Do not leave the tent unless your life depends on it." _What's going on? We're not really being attacked, are we? _"Sokka, are we being attacked by the Fire Nation?" "Yes." _No! No, this can't be happening. My heart is racing so fast. I'm so scared. No, no- _"No!" _Fire! There's fire in the tent. _"Mom!" "Katara, Sokka, follow me. We need to get to somewhere safe." _I don't like running away. But we are. We have to. We're running away._ _Where's Sokka? I stop running. _"Sokka? Mom! Where's Sokka?" "He's at another tent. Katara!" _Fire! Duck, I ducked, I'm okay. _"Katara…" _No. _"Go…" _She's on fire._ "Get to a safe place." _She fell and hit something. The snow put out the fire. What did she hit? __Blood.__ The snow is red. Her head is bleeding. I need to do something. _"I need to do something. I can't move. HELP!" _Someone's hand is on my shoulder. Turn around. Maybe it's Dad or Sokka or Gran- Gran._ "Da-?" "She could still be alive." _He's Sokka's age…or mine. I'm not sure. Part of his face is covered. Why? He's Fire Nation._ "She could still be with you." "What? What are you talking about?" "You ducked. You could have saved her, too. You killed her." "No! Get away from me!" _I can't help the tears. They flow out of my eyes now. _"Get away from me!" "You killed her." "No!" "Stupid waterbender." _He's leaving. The snow is cold on my knees and hands. My face stings from the cold- my hood is burnt. She's gone. SHE'S GONE! I touch her face. She looks so scared. There is blood on my glove. The necklace! How'd she know she was going to die? Where is he? _"Sokka!!" _He can't hear me._ "Sokka! (Pause) SOKKA HELP ME!!!" _He's finally here._ "Why are you scream- oh, no." _I cried. The tears rushed out like they've been trying to escape for hours. Sokka is here._

"Why are you scream- oh, no." _She's just lying there. Blood…lots of blood. Katara's eyes are wide open and she is staring at her lying there. _"Katara, we need to get help." "He left." "Who left?" "That kid." "What kid?" "I KILLED HER!" "What?" _Who did she kill? Did she kill the kid she's talking about? Who is it?_ _She's shaking._ "Katara, we need to go." "But-?" "The village is destroyed. We need to go find Dad." "But Mom! We can't just leave her here!" "We have to. We need to go." "Sokka!"

"SOKKA!"

Sokka got out of his bed and ran to Katara's room. She was on the floor on her hands and knees.

"Sokka! Help me, please!"

Sokka ran up and knelt by his sister. She fell and he hugged her.

"What's wrong?" Sokka sounded stressed and tired. He didn't understand why his sister kept having these nightmares.

"It's my fault. It's my fault she's dead!" she cried out, seeming to be in so much pain, like her heart could give out at any minute.

"Katara, we've talked about this. It's not your fault."

Aang, Toph, Teo, Zuko, The Duke, and Haru stood in the doorway. Sokka helped Katara up.

"Are-." Zuko was cut off by a suddenly angry Waterbender.

"His voice." Katara's face rose up in shock.

"Who's voice? What are you talking about?" Sokka tried to get a glimpse of Katara's eyes but the suddenly narrowed.

Katara turned around.

"IT WAS YOU!"

"Who are you talking to?" Aang was momentarily confused.

"YOU WERE THERE! YOU WERE WITH THE FIRE NATION!!"

"Apparently Zuko."

"Katara, I-."

Katara tried to run over to Zuko but Sokka held her back.

"Sokka, let me go!"

"No, Katara. You need to calm down."

"No! You're the one who was there when she died! You're the one who said it was my fault! You're the one who killed her! You're the one who burned her!"

Sokka's eyes widened. They sharpened down and he glared at Zuko.

"Did you?" Sokka's mind went into a state of shock and anger. He glanced towards Zuko with furry in his eyes.

There was silence. Sokka tried to remain calm.

"I'll ask again. Did you kill our mother?"

"They told me to! I was fourteen, give me a break! I was trying to-."

"Leave."

"What?"

"Leave now."

Zuko turned and ran. Sokka seemed to have a plan. He turned towards the Avatar.

"Aang, come here."

Aang walked up to Sokka and Katara. Sokka leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"Tell him to go to the place where Teo, The Duke, and Haru would explore. Just for now. Just until Katara cools off. We need him on our team, but Katara needs space otherwise someone just might end up dead."

They both shared a look of worry.

"Got it."

Aang followed Zuko as did everyone else.

"I-."

"It's okay. Just calm down."

Katara's heart raced and she passed out. Sokka held on to her.

"Katara!"

He knelt down on the floor and shook her lightly.

"Katara, wake up. Katara!"

_What do I do? She passed out, what do I do? __Bed.__ I need to put her on the bed._

Sokka picked his sister up and placed her on the bed. At the fountain, he filled a bucket with cold water and got a piece of cloth from his room. He returned to Katara and soaked the cloth in the water, ringing the extra liquid out. He placed the damp fabric on her forehead and sat by her side throughout the night, changing the cloth every time it dried out. He prayed she'd get out of this soon. He wanted his sister back.


	4. Conversations

Chapter four….

_I can't see her face. It's blurred out and I can't see it. Where are you?_

Katara shuttered as something cold and wet had suddenly taken its place across her forehead. Her hand grabbed the hand that placed the washcloth upon her. Her eyes slowly opened and she saw a bald monk sitting next to her. 

"What happened?" she asked; her eyes half open.

Aang brought their hands to lay on the bed and he gave hers a tight squeeze. A small smile appeared on his face and his grey eyes seemed to sparkle as he looked into her blue ones.

"You got overheated and passed out. I guess your nightmares come with the flu."

_That's why my stomach hurts so much._

"Are you feeling any better?" Aang's smile seemed to turn into a frown which painted a concerned expression across his face. Katara shook her head. Aang ran his thumb back and forth across the back of Katara's hand. "You need to stop this, you know."

Katara looked up at Aang, somewhat puzzled.

"Being sick?"

Aang chuckled.

"Yes. That and having these nightmares about your mom. They're not doing you any good."

Katara yawned.

"I'll…try." Katara spoke slowly, obviously quite tired. She closed her eyes and fell asleep. Aang smiled down at her one last time then quietly left the room.

He met Sokka on the upper level of the temple. Sokka looked over the edge, leaning on a wall, with his head in his hands. 

"How is she doing, Aang?"

"Alright, I guess. She is asleep right now but she's still burning up. I wish she'd hurry up and get better. I miss her. She's always been the one who has been taken care of us and now that she's not, it seems that we lost someone in our group. I don't know what to do, Sokka. I've never seen her like this."

"I know, Aang. I miss her, too. I also miss our mom. Like I told Toph once, I can't remember what she looked like. Whenever I pictured our mom, I pictured Katara. And with Katara like this, it feels like I'm losing her all over again. But we just have to tough it out, the same as her. She'll get better soon. I'm sure of it."

"Have you seen Zuko anywhere?"

"I think he's been avoiding me. He's probably scared of what I'll do to him, or what Katara will do to him, now that we know that he's the one who killed her. I actually forgive him, though. I mean, I understand why he did what he did. He had to obey his country. He was trying so hard. And if it were me in that position, I can't say that I would have done anything differently. I don't know what to think of it as a whole, but Zuko has shown improvement since he's been here and he's proven his worth. Knowing that he was the one doesn't really changed anything because it had already happened and there's nothing anyone can do about it. I don't know how to explain this to Katara without her yelling at me, but maybe somehow we can."

"I think she'll understand. In fact, I know she will. It'll just take some time."

There it is! It's short, but that's because of writers block. Please review.


	5. Naps and Charm

Chapter five is finally up! I'm writing so many other things that I forgot about this story...whoops. Constructive criticism is always helpful.

* * *

"You know I haven't seen you Waterbend in a while."

Katara opened her eyes to see Sokka looking down at her. He just sat there, looking at her. So worried. She had never seen him so protective or so concerned in a long time. She wondered why he was here. She wondered why he cared so much now.

"You don't-." she coughed and shivered. Her fever had gone back up the night before and it seemed she was getting worse with each passing day.

"Yes I do."

"How come?"

"Katara, I'm your brother. Your big brother which, obviously, makes you my _little_ sister. I don't care how big and powerful you think you are, you'll still be little Katty."

Katara smiled. Sokka hadn't called her that since they were very young, when he didn't call anyone by their 'grown up' names like Mom or Dad. It was Katty, Mommy and Daddy. He picked up a cup by the side table and filled it with water from the pitcher.

"Sit up."

He poured some powder into the glass and stirred it around with a metal stick. Once Katara was sitting up, he gave her the glass. She held it in both hands and Sokka supported the bottom of it with one of his. He discovered earlier that day that she couldn't fully grasp anything yet which ended up with Katara getting soaked and then turning over and groaning into her pillow. She had said that she felt like such a burden on everyone because she was sick and that they all must hate her for not being able to do so much as drinking out of a glass. Katara drank the medicine and a disgusted reaction appeared across her face. She quickly gulped it down and then lied on her back.

"If I wasn't sick before, I think I am now."

Sokka rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Teo said that this might make you feel a little bit better. His dad gave this medicine to him just in case he or one of us got terribly ill. It was a good call on his part."

"So…I'm terribly ill?" Katara's voice had developed a scratchy, worried tone.

Sokka sighed and nodded his head.

"Katara, you're really sick. I don't know why and I don't know how, but you are. The best thing for you right now is plenty of sleep, medicine, care. TLC."

"I don't want to go to sleep. I can't sleep. I hate sleep!"

Sokka raised an eyebrow. He had never seen Katara get so angry about having to go to sleep. Even as a little girl she loved it because she was so tired from running around and chasing things all the time. Sokka chuckled at the memory and pulled the blankets up over Katara's shoulders as she closed her eyes.

"Goodnight, Katara."

"Goodnight."

* * *

Aang and Zuko were out on the second level of the temple Firebending.

"I'm sorry I made her so upset. I feel like this is all my fault." Zuko passed the fireball over to Aang. He caught it and passed it back. This continued on with their conversation.

"Well, no offence, Zuko, but it is your fault. I'm not sure what Katara was like before her mom died but ever since I met her, I've come to know that she's not always a very forgiving person. If you do something to tick her off you're going to need to do something out of the ordinary to get her to put you back on her good list."

Zuko passed the fire back. He sighed and stared at the ball as it went back and forth from his hands to the Avatar's.

"You know that's not entirely true, right?"

"Huh?"

"I've been watching how she reacts to other people and what you said, about her forgiving people, isn't entirely true. For instance, a few days ago, before the nightmares started, when you two got in that argument, she forgave you almost instantly. You said you were sorry and she smiled and gave you the biggest hug I think I've ever seen."

Aang blushed and made the fire bigger.

"Do you get special treatment because you're the Avatar?"

He chuckled and looked at his teacher. He knew exactly why she forgave him so suddenly all of the time.

"Sure. I guess that's part of it. Maybe also because I'm younger than the rest of you."

"That blind girl is your age, isn't she?"

_Whoops. Sometimes I forget how _young_ Toph is. She seems older than Katara sometimes._

"Uh…right. You also have to have charm."

The Airbender grinned and passed the flame. Zuko winced and passed it back.

"I don't think I want to show Katara…_charm_."


	6. A Letter to My Mother

FINALLY the next chapter is up!! Here- we- go-:

* * *

_One day you were here, then the next day you were gone. You are what taught me to be strong. It's your laughing eyes and your smiling face. I never wanted to leave this place. But when you left that's when I made up my mind. I chose to leave my past behind- I chose to shine. I followed the path you left just to make you proud so I could live to walk on solid ground. So why do I feel as if I lost my way? I never thought that I couldn't find a reason to stay. So I hope that you aren't angry at what I've become. I've just needed to find someone else love. Now that I have things are turning back around. But I want you to know that, that one person I have found will never replace you inside my heart. There is nothing that could tear my soul apart. _

I rolled up the cloth I wrote on and stuffed it into my shoe. Aang walked into the room and placed his hand on my forehead. He smiled and sat down next to me.

"Well your feaver is going down. That's a good thing. Are you feeling any better, Katara?"

"Sort of, I guess." I lied. "I'm really sorry."

He looked shocked which in turn shocked me.

"Sorry? For what? You didn't do anything!"

I laughed.

"Are you kidding? I've been such a burden on you guys. I've been sick for a week and I've been having these crazy nightmares and have been waking up screaming which makes everyone else wake up-"

"It's all right."

"No it's not! You and Sokka probably haven't had a good and full nights sleep in a long time."

"Neither have you."

"Yeah but that doesn't mean you shouldn't."

Aang put his hand on top of mine and shifted his body to face me. His soft and caring expressions turned stern and strong.

"Don't get mad at what we choose to do with our nights. You know we cold have left you all alone screaming if we didn't care. But we did care so we came. Now I have a question."

He tried to catch my eyes but I just kept turning them away. He then cupped my face in his hands and turned my head towards him and narrowed his eyes to mine. I couldn't help but look into the pools of grey in front of me. He caught me.

"Did you feel at least a little better when we came in to check on you?"

I couldn't lie to him about this.

"Yes."

"Did you sleep well afterwards?"

I knew he knew the answer to that considering that I'd wake up to him sleeping on the ground next to my bed on the cold hard concrete. These thoughts made me feel worse.

"Yeah but you-"

"I asked if _you_ did."

"Yes." I sighed.

"Good. Then I'm happy and Sokka's happy. Are you happy?"

"No."

Then Aang let out a little laugh.

"You're just going to have to get happy in the same pants you got mad in then."

I received his hug and gave him one in return. He left me sitting there on my bed with my head in my hand pouting that he tried to tell me that he enjoyed trying to get me to calm down every night. He lied to me. Well then again I lied to him. But I didn't want him to worry. And he probably didn't want me to worry so I just left it at that and prayed that the nightmares would go away soon. And if they didn't, then I needed to think of a way to stop them. Or I needed to create some way from pestering everybody. Either way isn't going to be much fun.

* * *

Yes this is short but…that's okay. Please review!


	7. Author's Note

So here's the rewrite of chapter seven because the last one sucked (if you didn't get a chance to read it you're pretty darn lucky!). I give my thanks to Avatarlover1 for all of the thoughts. This is kind of my interpretation on that one scene from the NYCC trailer and there's more to come!!

* * *

The air was cool but the fire seemed to overpower the temperature creating a perfect atmosphere. The gang sat around the campfire and huddled close. Even though it was only about noon, the temperature was almost unbearable.

"It's good to see that you're feeling better, Katara. Things were pretty lonely without you here."

"Thanks, Haru."

"So your mother was really killed in a raid?"

Sokka groaned and fell onto his back. It seemed that right when Katara seemed to be calmed down, someone said something to start her back up again. Aang glared over at Haru.

"Uh…sorry."

"That's okay. I guess I just got sick and let it all go to my head. I'm alright now though."

Toph snorted.

"That's a relief. We were all worried that we'd have to send you to an insane asylum."

"Ah, ha, ha." Katara rolled her eyes and turned away.

"I know what it's like to lose your mother. Mine was banished when I was little because she tried to save me before my father killed me."

"Well at least she's still alive," Katara shot back, glaring at Zuko.

"Well at least your father doesn't hate your guts and want you killed."

Sokka sat up. "Touché!"

"Look, I'm sorry that we did that, okay? I'm sorry that we killed your mother. And I'm sorry, Aang, that my people killed all of the Air Nomads."

Aang frowned and looked down at his feet.

"And I'm sorry for whatever I did to anyone else here, I really am. If I could take it all back I would in a heartbeat. I-."

"STOP IT!"

Zuko, moth still open, stopped speaking at the sudden interruption by Katara who was giving him a death glare. She had stood up to her feet, leaving Aang who was leaning against her, to somewhat fall to his side and look up at her. Her hands were clenched by her side and her face was getting red.

"Stop it! I'm sick of hearing your stupid apologies! I'm sick of you saying that you wish you could take back all of the things that you have done because you can't! You can't, Zuko! None of us can! There is no power in this universe that could bring my mother back or bring back any of the Air Nomads! So quit pretending that everything is okay when it's not!"

With that, Katara turned around and stormed off. The group just sat, speechless- still huddled close except for the small gap between Aang and Sokka where Katara once sat. Zuko stood up and his eyes trailed into the direction that Katara left.

"You're not going after her are you?" Sokka asked with worry in his voice.

"I have to. I've hurt her so much-."

"She's not going to accept another apology."

"I've figured that, Sokka, but I'm going to at least try to work something out with her. I'm sick of her yelling at me all of the time."

"So you're doing this for you?"

"I'm doing this for both of us."

Zuko left the circle and followed the same path that Katara took to try to catch up with her, knowing that his travels were probably in vain- but he had to try. _I'm going to be friends with her if it kills me._ He found her standing facing a small bunch of trees right outside of the temple. Finding her was easy, following her was quite difficult. He had to climb rocks and vines so that he could make it to the top of the temple, right below the surface of the ground. He stepped in front of her and looked down at her face. Her cheeks were stained with tears and her eyes were shut so tight that he wondered if she would be able to get them to open again.

"Katara-."

"I'm sorry."

Zuko's eyes widened as the Waterbender looked up at him. He wondered if he had heard her correctly or if he was imagining things. Did she just…_apologize_?

"What?"

"I- I'm sorry for what a jerk I've been to you since you joined us. The truth is, I just wasn't ready for it. You caught me off guard."

"Kinda like you just did to me?"

Katara looked to her left and then back up at Zuko.

"Uh…sure. But, you really have been help to us a lot so far. I mean, you've taught Aang so much Firebending and he's so amazing at it now and you've been so kind and I…well…haven't."

"It's okay. I don't blame you for being a jerk. Heck, I wouldn't even blame you if you hated me! I'm just sick of fighting with you. I want to be accepted by you. To be a part of your group and to help the Avatar is such an honor to me- you don't even imagine. And to be your friend would be an honor to. You're very talented, Katara. And I want to help you guys and turn my reputation around. And I know you don't want me to apologize, but I am really sorry for what happened so many years ago and for all of these moths that I've been chasing you guys. All I want now is your approval."

Katara smiled for what seemed to be the first time in over a week. Zuko was just shocked that it was _him_ who made her smile and not Aang with his 'charm' and all.

"Truce?"

Katara nodded. "Truce."

She then hugged Zuko who was, once again, shocked by her actions, but gladly returned the hug. Once they parted, Katara looked up with an expression upon her face which Zuko could not read. He cocked his head and looked at her eyes. _What is she thinking?_

"We're leaving." She finally blurted out.

This statement startled the once Prince.

"Excuse me?" Was all his response could impose.

"We're leaving! You and me. We're going on a mission."

"A mission? For what?"

"To find your mother."

* * *

Okay! So that was it! Hopefully it was better than the last one. This is as close to anything Zutara you'll ever see me write so there ya go! It wasn't really _Zutara_, Zutara but in friendship. I don't have anything against them being friends. It's just them as a couple I have a problem with. Anyway…please review!


	8. My Apology

So here's the rewrite of the next chapter because the original one sucked (if you didn't get a chance to read it you're pretty darn lucky!). I give my thanks to Avatarlover1 for all of the thoughts. This is kind of my interpretation on that one scene from the NYCC trailer and there's more to come!!

* * *

The air was cool but the fire seemed to overpower the temperature creating a perfect atmosphere. The gang sat around the campfire and huddled close. Even though it was only about noon, the temperature was almost unbearable.

"It's good to see that you're feeling better, Katara. Things were pretty lonely without you here."

"Thanks, Haru."

"So your mother was really killed in a raid?"

Sokka groaned and fell onto his back. It seemed that right when Katara seemed to be calmed down, someone said something to start her back up again. Aang glared over at Haru.

"Uh…sorry."

"That's okay. I guess I just got sick and let it all go to my head. I'm alright now though."

Toph snorted.

"That's a relief. We were all worried that we'd have to send you to an insane asylum."

"Ah, ha, ha." Katara rolled her eyes and turned away.

"I know what it's like to lose your mother. Mine was banished when I was little because she tried to save me before my father killed me."

"Well at least she's still alive," Katara shot back, glaring at Zuko.

"Well at least your father doesn't hate your guts and want you killed."

Sokka sat up. "Touché!"

"Look, I'm sorry that we did that, okay? I'm sorry that we killed your mother. And I'm sorry, Aang, that my people killed all of the Air Nomads."

Aang frowned and looked down at his feet.

"And I'm sorry for whatever I did to anyone else here, I really am. If I could take it all back I would in a heartbeat. I-."

"STOP IT!"

Zuko, moth still open, stopped speaking at the sudden interruption by Katara who was giving him a death glare. She had stood up to her feet, leaving Aang who was leaning against her, to somewhat fall to his side and look up at her. Her hands were clenched by her side and her face was getting red.

"Stop it! I'm sick of hearing your stupid apologies! I'm sick of you saying that you wish you could take back all of the things that you have done because you can't! You can't, Zuko! None of us can! There is no power in this universe that could bring my mother back or bring back any of the Air Nomads! So quit pretending that everything is okay when it's not!"

With that, Katara turned around and stormed off. The group just sat, speechless- still huddled close except for the small gap between Aang and Sokka where Katara once sat. Zuko stood up and his eyes trailed into the direction that Katara left.

"You're not going after her are you?" Sokka asked with worry in his voice.

"I have to. I've hurt her so much-."

"She's not going to accept another apology."

"I've figured that, Sokka, but I'm going to at least try to work something out with her. I'm sick of her yelling at me all of the time."

"So you're doing this for you?"

"I'm doing this for both of us."

Zuko left the circle and followed the same path that Katara took to try to catch up with her, knowing that his travels were probably in vain- but he had to try. _I'm going to be friends with her if it kills me._ He found her standing facing a small bunch of trees right outside of the temple. Finding her was easy, following her was quite difficult. He had to climb rocks and vines so that he could make it to the top of the temple, right below the surface of the ground. He stepped in front of her and looked down at her face. Her cheeks were stained with tears and her eyes were shut so tight that he wondered if she would be able to get them to open again.

"Katara-."

"I'm sorry."

Zuko's eyes widened as the Waterbender looked up at him. He wondered if he had heard her correctly or if he was imagining things. Did she just…_apologize_?

"What?"

"I- I'm sorry for what a jerk I've been to you since you joined us. The truth is, I just wasn't ready for it. You caught me off guard."

"Kinda like you just did to me?"

Katara looked to her left and then back up at Zuko.

"Uh…sure. But, you really have been help to us a lot so far. I mean, you've taught Aang so much Firebending and he's so amazing at it now and you've been so kind and I…well…haven't."

"It's okay. I don't blame you for being a jerk. Heck, I wouldn't even blame you if you hated me! I'm just sick of fighting with you. I want to be accepted by you. To be a part of your group and to help the Avatar is such an honor to me- you don't even imagine. And to be your friend would be an honor to. You're very talented, Katara. And I want to help you guys and turn my reputation around. And I know you don't want me to apologize, but I am really sorry for what happened so many years ago and for all of these moths that I've been chasing you guys. All I want now is your approval."

Katara smiled for what seemed to be the first time in over a week. Zuko was just shocked that it was _him_ who made her smile and not Aang with his 'charm' and all.

"Truce?"

Katara nodded. "Truce."

She then hugged Zuko who was, once again, shocked by her actions, but gladly returned the hug. Once they parted, Katara looked up with an expression upon her face which Zuko could not read. He cocked his head and looked at her eyes. _What is she thinking?_

"We're leaving." She finally blurted out.

This statement startled the once Prince.

"Excuse me?" Was all his response could impose.

"We're leaving! You and me. We're going on a mission."

"A mission? For what?"

"To find your mother."

* * *

Okay! So that was it! Hopefully it was better than the last one. This is as close to anything Zutara you'll ever see me write so there ya go! It wasn't really _Zutara_, Zutara but in friendship. I don't have anything against them being friends. It's just them as a couple I have a problem with. Anyway…please review!


	9. On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

Oh my gosh I actually wrote something! Shocking isn't it? So we left off with Katara saying that her and Zuko are going on an 'adventure' (I guess you can call it that) and we start with this:

* * *

"We're going to do _what_?"

I couldn't believe my ears. I knew what she said…or at least I thought I had, but it didn't make any sense.

"You heard me. We're going to go find your-."

"I heard what you said. But we can't."

The Waterbender gave me a funny look. I didn't know what she was thinking. We couldn't just _leave_ on a random expedition to go find my mother. Especially when Aang needed training. And what would the others think? Wouldn't it make them wonder why the girl who hated me with all of her heart just snuck off with me with no letter or warning or reasoning? I just got _out_ of trouble.

"Well why not?" STUPID QUESTION!!

"What do you mean 'why not?'? THINK about it!"

"You're right." Thank you. "We can't start looking without an idea of where to look first. What were some of your mother's hobbies?" She doesn't listen.

"Hello? Anyone in that head? We _can't._ Do you not understand?"

"Well I guess not Prince Know-It-All. Why don't you explain it to me?" there was some anger in her voice. She was getting mad at me again and I didn't know why. I just decided to agree with her and get this over with. This journey would probably end up only being a few hours anyway and it would keep me busy for a while, I guess.

"Fine, let's go. But if one of us dies, it's your fault, not mine. I don't want to get blamed for killing you, too."

"Blamed!? You-!"

"Okay, sorry." Wrong thing to say. I guess that was my fault and no one really _blamed_ me for it. She just kind of figured it out.

"So answer my question."

"Question?"

"What were some of your mother's hobbies?"

"Oh. Hobbies, right. Well…she liked spending time with me, I guess. Not so much with Azula. Then again…no one liked her very much. Not even Mae or Ty Lee. Anyway, she didn't really have _hobbies_. She pretty much made sure that we weren't destroying things- or people. We were kept around the palace most of the time so it's not like we went out and did fun stuff too often. I know she liked feeding turtleducks. She was like the peace keeper of the family. It was a tough job being the wife of the Fire Lord and all but she managed it pretty well."

"She seems nice."

"She was beautiful, too. She had dark hair and chestnut brown eyes that were so comforting. She never seemed to be in a bad mood. In a way she was a lot like Uncle."

"I just have one question. Why do you keep talking about her like she's dead?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean, you keep saying that she _was_ these things and that she _liked_ these things. She could still like feeding turtleducks and spending time with you."

I guess I never really thought about how I was talking about her since my father told me she was alive. For so long I've thought that she was dead and now that I know that she's not- well I guess some habits are just hard to break. When Katara asked me this it kind of gave me more hope in finding her. I mean, she could very well be dead but that was most unlikely. My mother was…_is_ a very strong person and she can take care of herself.

"It's just going to take a while for me to get it into my head that she's actually alive, I guess."

"Understandable. So where do you think would be a reasonable place to start looking?"

"Well no where near the Fire Nation, since she was banished. And besides, she probably despises that place. I know that she hated the war. Whenever someone brought up something about how my father was moving in soldiers to raid another Earth Kingdom village or Water Tribe she would get very angry and leave."

"I hate to say this, but just about everywhere in the world is Fire Nation now. So what general area? Did she ever want to go visit a certain part of the world?"

"I know that she likes the East. She always talked about how we should go there and visit Earth Kingdom landmarks. She's very impressed with Earthbenders because of their strength and perseverance. But more than that, she loved hearing Water Tribe stories."

"Really? Why?"

"I don't know. She just seemed very attracted to them."

"Our best bet then would either be the Northeast or the Southeast. We only have one shot at this for now at least. We can't be gone for more than a couple of days."

"Days? Whoa there. What about the Avatar and the others?"

"They're big boys. And besides, Toph is with them. What could happen?"

"What would they think?"

"They'll probably think that I killed you or something. I don't think they'd care if you were gone…no offence. I don't even think they'd care if I was gone."

"You're right about me. But I know that they'd worry if you left."

"Are you kidding? They're probably going to throw a party! I've been totally stressing everyone out from these nightmares and everything."

"But Sokka's your brother. Older brothers tend to be protective of their younger sisters. Unless you little sister can destroy you then that changes everything. And what about Aang?"

"What about him?"

"He'll miss you. You guys haven't spent a day apart since you've met."

"So? It'll be just two days tops. No problem. He'll be fine. He won't miss me that much."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"What do you mean?"

"_You also need to have charm."_

"Nothing. You're right. Back on our direction…I think our best chance of finding her would be going Northeast."

"Okay then. Zuko, are you ready to find your mother?"

I took in a deep breath in and let it out slowly. The thought of finally finding her thrilled me but it also made me a little nervous. With everything that's happened since she left, I wondered if she'd be proud of the path I've chosen. She probably would be glad that I'm helping end the war, but she could be mad that I turned my back on my family. She used to tell me that the most important thing is family. Maybe… maybe she would be proud of my new family? Those thoughts went through my mind as we started out but the one question that stuck in my head the entire time was if she was really alive or not. We had one chance and if this wasn't the right way, we could die for nothing. So this was it. On your mark, get set, go!


	10. Aang's Secret

Okay so all of this is going on while Katara and Zuko are on their "mommy mission". I got this idea from my sister. Toph may seem...well is pretty bitchy (in lack of better words) to Aang in this and that's not how it was intended it just kinda came out that way so sorry about that.

* * *

**Aang's POV:**

I paced across our usual training spot for I don't know how long. Where was he? It wasn't like Zuko to be late. I hadn't seen him since him and Katara got in that fight. Then again, I haven't seen Katara either. I got worried that maybe she got sick again so I left the eastern side of the temple hoping that Zuko wouldn't show up while I was gone and then yell at me for being late. I was in the middle of thinking up an excuse for not showing up as I arrived to Katara's room. The door was shut so I knocked. No reply. I knocked again. Nothing.

_Maybe she's sleeping._

Yeah, that was it. She was sleeping. I didn't think she'd mind if I came in to see how she was doing if she was sleeping so I slowly and carefully turned the door knob and opened the door. It made a loud squeak and I winced hoping that she hadn't woken up. I entered the room and quietly shut the door behind me. No squeak. Good. I walked up to her bed in confusion to find it empty.

_Where is she? Well it is a big temple. She's probably on the second floor trying to avoid Zuko. _

I shrugged and walked out of the room and up to Sokka.

"Hey Sokka."

"Hey, how's it going?"

"Uh…good. I think."

The master swordsman gave me a confused look and folded his arms. He was waiting for an explanation.

"What happened?" he sounded annoyed. I didn't blame him. With everything that has been happening (and him being the caregiver while Katara was sick), I'd get fed up with everyone's problems, too. How did Katara handle this every day? Sokka's expression turned to a look of worry. "Is Katara sick again?"

"Oh no, nothing like that. Well then again I wouldn't know 'cause I can't find her."

"You can't? That's odd. Usually you two are stuck side-by-side like glue and I can't get one of you to come with me to do something without the other one following."

I slightly blushed. He was right. I didn't go anywhere without her lately and vice versa. After thinking this I became a little worried. What if she was in trouble? She couldn't save herself she was still recovering!

"Do you think we should look for her, Sokka?"

"Nah. She probably needs girl time."

"You know what's even odder?" Toph came walking up to us with her arms folded across her chest, matching Sokka. "I can't seem to find Burn Boy either. Katara didn't kill him, did she?"

Sokka laughed. "I doubt that. He's probably off getting food or something."

The conversation was left like that with none of us really knowing what did happen to the two.

* * *

**Sokka's POV:**

It was now time for dinner and I started losing hope in Katara showing up to make anything so I took matters in my own hands and prepared us all a little meat dish. It actually turned out pretty great; shocker due to my lack of cooking skills. There was just one tiny piece of information that I left out of the dinner plan: Aang didn't eat meat. Sometimes I wondered how that kid survived with never eating a piece of meat in his life.

"That's okay, Sokka. I can probably find some fruit around here somewhere if I get hungry."

I responded in a simple 'okay' and everyone carried on with their eating but I could tell that there was some disappointment that he had no food. Katara had always made sure that Aang had a nice bowl of nuts and fruit while the rest of us had a good, hearty meat meal. She was always good at making sure that none of us were left out at meal time. I was really starting to get worried about her and the fact that Zuko wasn't here didn't make anything much better. But dinner passed and night fell and we all sat around a small fire like we usually did at this time of night and talked.

I noticed that Aang was rather fidgety at dinner and his movements didn't seem to have subsided during the passing minutes of 'social hour'.

"Hey, buddy, anything wrong?"

Toph grabbed Aang's shoulder and shook him a little making him lose his balance for a moment but he managed to sit upright.

"He's probably just depressed that his girlfriend's not here."

"Toph, she's not my girlfriend!"

"Defensive much? I mean seriously, whenever you're around her-."

"Toph, that's enough." I looked at her with a pleading eye. I didn't want anyone getting mad at anyone else on a night like tonight. My look towards her did no good to her blind eyes. My only weapon now was the tone of my voice. "You're just making it worse."

She closed her eyes and stuck out her hands to show she was backing off.

"It's just-." Aang paused. You could tell there was resistance in his voice. "Well my mind has been on facing the Firelord and the only way I can defeat him is by going into the Avatar State but…" He paused again.

"But?" Toph asked impatiently.

"I can't go into the Avatar State and I don't want to kill him."

"It seems to me that you have no problem, Twinkle-toes. Don't go glowy and don't kill the dude."

"But the only way I have even a _chance_ of facing him, not just killing him, is with the Avatar State."

"Then what's holding you back?" I chimed in.

"It's more like whom."

We all just looked at him waiting for a response. He seemed tense with everyone watching him, waiting for the answer to why he couldn't fulfill his duty as the Avatar.

"Who is it?" I asked again.

"Katara."

* * *

**Aang's POV:**

My heart sped up. Had I really just said that? I stared down at the sparking fire and sighed waiting for the group's reaction but everyone was silent, probably trying to figure out why Katara had been the reason why I couldn't master the Avatar State. My stomach grew a slight pain. I couldn't tell if it was from embarrassment or hunger- I still hadn't eaten.

"Katara?" Sokka questioned.

I nodded. Toph started laughing. Everyone looked to her, confused. Except me. I was angry.

_Thanks for the support._

"Whoa, Mr. Avatar," she started, still laughing. "You can't go into the Avatar State because of _Katara_? What, does she have some mystical spirit power that disables it or something? I mean serious-."

I stood up.

"IT'S BECAUSE I LOVE HER, OKAY!?"

Well I had just put myself in a VERY awkward position. Toph stopped laughing and just froze, staring into nowhere. Everyone else stared at _me_. My heart sank.

"Oh like you couldn't figure that one out?!"

Their eyes all shifted and Sokka let out a fake yawn.

"Well that's enough excitement for one day. I'm beat!"

He stood up and stretched his arms. The rest just got up, nodded in agreement while mumbling to themselves then shuffled off to bed. I saw Sokka's feet suddenly in front of my floor-bound eyes.

"Love is hard to follow sometimes. You'll figure it out. You're a good kid."

Sokka patted me on the back and left to his room. His words didn't seem to be too much help and barely thoughtful but he was right- love was hard to follow. But it wasn't just sometimes, it was ALL the time. My stomach grumbled and I put my hand over it. I guess it was time for dinner.


	11. Meeting Danger

**Yea I'm finally updating the story!! Sorry it took so long I've been busy! I've been going to driver's ed and we're putting my 13 year-old dog down tomorrow; we got a new puppy last week and right now she's in the hospital hooked up to IVs because she has pneumonia (again my boring sob story) but I finally took a few minutes to write this so here it is! Phew!**

* * *

**Katara's POV:**

The light had seemed to disappear without warning and I suddenly realized that the only way I was able to see was from the guidance from the stars and moon. I inhaled the sweet smell of the cool air and stretched my arms. Zuko had been trailing behind quite a bit so I decided to stop and wait for him to catch up.

I then pulled out of my small bag two cloaks. I tossed one to Zuko.

"What are these for?"

"It's easier to stay hidden in the dark if you wear dark clothing."

I put up my hair and tucked the bottom of my kimono into my pants. Then I put on the cloak and tied a cloth belt around my waist to keep it on. Zuko followed my actions and put his on the same way.

"They'll also hide our clothing. Now it won't be so obvious that I'm Water Tribe and you're Fire Nation."

"I'm getting tired."

Hearing him say this made me realize my own weakness. I thought about stopping for the night until he continued.

"I'm hungry, too." I rolled my eyes. He started to sound like a little kid- or Sokka. "do you have any food in that bag?"

I looked over at the run-away prince and saw his pleading eyes. I felt sorry for him…kind of. He probably didn't know the _real_ feeling of being hungry.

"No. I don't."

Zuko's eyes widened and he quickly became angry.

"What?"

"I said no."

"Why!? Didn't you think of oh I don't know- _surviving_ this trip!?"

'_And I was just beginning to like him.'_

"Uh yeah I did think about that. I'm not stupid. If you're so hungry go look for something. I didn't want the others to go hungry."

"You know what? Nevermind! And what's the excuse about not using that fluffy flying thing? You didn't want the Avatar to cry over losing his beloved pet?"

Zuko was really irritating me.

"His name is Appa and for your information I didn't bring him so we wouldn't get caught by the Fire Nation!"

And with that the argument was over. Jeez, didn't he learn _anything_ from being a fugitive?

"I'm going to sleep."

I walked away to the other side of the meadow and lied down on the grass. It was times like this when I wondered why I decided to help him.

* * *

**Aang's POV:**

I was trying my hardest not to think about what had just happened so I thought about where Katara was and what she was doing. She usually didn't just get up and leave without having a good reason. Recently her reason had been to be alone and think about her mother. But this time she wasn't alone. This time Zuko had gone with her. This is what I had a hard time with. I knew Zuko had changed to a certain extent but I didn't fully trust him yet. And now he was alone with Katara without warning or sense to where they had gone. Those two had nothing in common except…that.

* * *

**Katara's POV:**

_Nothing could ruin this moment. M heart sped up at the thought at what had just happened and what was about to happen. His voice was nervous when he said it but I didn't mind. If I were him I would have passed out by now. His words echoed in my head: 'I love you.' I was shocked yet excited and I could feel my cheeks turn a dark shade of pink. Then he came closer and his grey eyes began to close. I stared at the blue arrow on his forehead for a moment before I finally closed my own eyes and began to lean in. I heard him say my name and right before our lips touched-."_

"Katara!!"

I inhaled sharply and shot up from my sleeping position. I took one more breath, this one being slow and deep, then looked up to Zuko who was staring at me. His voice had been a quiet yell but it was enough to wake me up. I looked around- the sun was barely up. I yawned.

"This better be important. I was in the middle of a good dream."

"I heard something."

'_You woke me up for that?'_

"Aw, do you want me to check for monsters?"

Zuko glared at me and I smirked.

"No. But it might be Fire Nation."

I rolled my eyes. Then I began to hear it, too. The voices came from the bushes:

"So what are we going to do? We're at a dead end and have found nothing." His voice was deep but it sounded muffled- like he was wearing a mask. The next voice sounded WAY too familiar for my liking.

"Well here's what I know so listen up."

Zuko and I slowly met worried glances and our voices were in synch.

"Azula."

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**A/N: I'm sorry. You wait for a long time then you get a pathetically short chapter. Ugh, what are we going to do with me?**


	12. Koda

**Yes! Another chapter! I'm feeling better today now that my puppy is home from the hospital:)****. So let's see if this one is any longer but don't get your hopes up.**

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**Aang's POV:**

I ran over to Sokka's room and opened the door. The dark room quickly filled with sunlight and I could hear the groan of a not-so-happy Water Tribe warrior.

"Five more minutes."

"Sokka, this is urgent."

He rubbed his eyes and sat up.

"What?"

I looked down at the ground, somewhat guilty for walking him up like this.

"Aang, what is it?" he sounded both worried and irritated.

"I think I know what happened to Katara and Zuko."

"And?"

"And you know how you lost your mom and his mom was banished?"

Sokka gave me a 'where are you going with this?' look.

"Yeah?"

"So…"

"So what? You think they went on a save Zuko's mommy mission?"

I gulped and nodded. This didn't even seem to faze Sokka, though.

"You woke me up for that?"

"Sokka, aren't you worried that something could happen to them? What if they get caught?"

"Look- I know Katara and I know how tough she is. If she's in trouble, she can take care of herself no problem. Same with Zuko."

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

"Aang, relax. She'll be fine. I promise."

I sighed, nodded and decided it was a lost cause. No matter what anyone said I'd still be worried.

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**Zuko's POV:**

"We need to hide." I knew she was pointing out the obvious but it got me out of my daze. She grabbed my wrist and shoved me into the bushes and kneeled next to me. I felt something stab me.

"Ow! Careful!" I half-whispered.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to mess up your hair."

Her voice was still mocking me and I was getting irritated. When I opened my mouth to yell at her she shushed me. So much for that. We watched as two Fire Nation soldiers stepped out of the forest with Azula in between them.

"They headed west. My best bet is that they headed somewhere completely out of sight from where we are now. If they were in an Earth Kingdom city they would have been discovered by now. They probably went to the Western Air Temple. Go give the directions to the fleet. We're leaving immediately."

My jaw dropped and I heard Katara slightly whimper next to me. I turned to her and a tear slipped away and rolled down her cheek.

"Aang," she whispered. "No. No, no, no!" She covered her face with her hands and silently began to cry.

"We need to go," I finally said. Katara looked up at me. Her face was stained with tears.

"Zuko, we can't. They have war ships; the only mobility we have is by our feet and that'll never get us there in time. And what about your mother?"

I sighed. I had almost forgotten why we came out here.

"Look…there's a certain time for everything, right?" She nodded. "Well maybe this isn't the right time to find her."

"But Zuko-."

"Katara, listen. Right now we need to help Aang. But I will find her weather it's before or after the war. Believe me. I'll give my all into looking for her but for now we need to get to the Western Air Temple before Azula does otherwise we could be in a lot of trouble."

Katara nodded again and wiped her eyes with the back of ther hand.

"But how can we get there in time?"

"I can help with that."

We both jumped and turned around. A tall man with dark blue clothing stood before us. He had long, straggly grayish brown hair and dark skin. His eyes were also brown.

"Who are you?" Katara asked.

"That is a great question." The man responded.

Katara and I gave each other skeptic looks.

"I'm Koda. And who might you two be?"

Uh-oh.

"Uh-I'm…uh- I'm Chang and this is my um…sister Wan…Chi."

I looked over to Katara nervously.

"Excuse me, Koda, but will you please pardon me and my brother for a moment?"

"Certainly."

Katara and I got up then she pulled me by the wrist behind some trees.

"Wan Chi?"

"What? It's not like I could say 'Oh hi! I'm the prince who betrayed the Fire Lord and this is the Avatar's Waterbending Master girlfriend Katara. We can lead you right to him!' Come on! He could be with Azula!"

"Okay, first of all, I'm not Aang's girlfriend. Second; what are you paranoid!? The guy is probably from the Water Tribe or Earth Kingdom."

"Well he's obviously not an Air Nomad."

She sighed.

"Besides, Zuko. I've dealt with people like this in the past and they weren't bad. Well one of them was a psycho inn keeper but even she helped us and _please_?!"

Katara bit her lip and widened her eyes. It didn't matter to her. She just wanted to get back. And I could tell by the look on her face that there was no way I was going to win this argument. Just like all of the others. It was Katara: 1 million; Zuko: -20.

"Okay, fine-."

"THANK YOU!!" All of a sudden I was being hugged and I couldn't breathe. Her grasp was like a snake around my neck. I pushed her off.

"Okay, okay. But what if he is with my sister or someone else from the Fire Nation? We'd be leading him and _them_ right to the others."

"We can fight them off! We have before! The important thing is that we get there before Azula. Isn't that what you said?"

I nodded, giving in and we went back to the man.

"We're in," I said. "How can you help us?"

"Follow me."

Koda led us through a series of trees into the next meadow, which I recognized from our journey the previous day, and to a big bush. That I didn't remember.

"What's behind the bush?" I asked.

He walked over and brushed off the leaves revealing a basket with a red balloon attached. The red balloon had a Fire Nation insignia on it.

"You're fire Nation."

"What?" He laughed. "No, no, no."

"Then what's with-?"

"The insignia? My friend is an inventor and made these for the Fire Nation Army and I barrowed one from him but when I went to return it, the place was abandoned."

Katara's face lit up.

"You know the inventor!?"

"Yes! How do you know him?"

"I went to the Northern Air Temple and met him and Teo there a few months ago. He built the submarines for the invasion."

"Invasion? You helped with that?"

'_Great. She blew our cover.'_

"Well…I-."

"She's a Waterbender."

'_Heck, why not?'_

"Oh. I see. So you say you know Teo? I haven't seen him since right after the accident."

"Accident?"

"Yes. You see, his family used to live in the Earth Kingdom. He lived near a large river. When he was an infant, there was a large flood. He was badly injured and his mother was…killed. He's been crippled ever since."

Katara looked to the ground.

"Oh. I lost my mother in a Fire Nation raid."

"And my mother was banished."

The man gave us a confused look.

"I thought you were siblings."

I gave out a nervous laugh.

"Well you see-."

"Nevermind that," he said. "Get in."

The three of us entered the war balloon and the man started the fire with spark rocks. Once we got high enough, we set our direction southwest- back to the others. Minutes of silence passed by before the man spoke again.

"So since you two obviously aren't related, who are you?"

I motioned for Katara to go first.

"I'm Katara. I'm from the Southern Water Tribe."

"Ah. So you're the girl who has been teaching the Avatar. I guess that's who we're going to go help?" She nodded. "And who might you be?"

"I'm…uh…Zuko."

"Zuko? Where you from?"

"Fire Nation. I'm not bad though- if that's what you're thinking. I mean I used to be but I've changed now and-."

"I get it. It's okay."

I sighed in relief. I thought the guy would throw me over. Well he probably would if he knew I was the Fire Lord's son. Good or not, it's a bad reputation to have.

We passed the forest about a half an hour later and now a large cannon came into view. Katara pointed to the ground.

"There it is!"

"It seems peaceful," Koda mentioned.

I gulped. "That's either really good or really bad."

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**A/N: Me and creativity of names don't mix. This is why I usually stick to fanfiction.**


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